GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Shares Sold by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC lessened its stake in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,106 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,153 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in GSK were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in GSK by 8.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,185,885,000 after buying an additional 2,224,345 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of GSK by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after acquiring an additional 870,449 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,853,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $607,222,000 after acquiring an additional 342,365 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. raised its position in shares of GSK by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 3,953,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $161,623,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in GSK by 30.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after purchasing an additional 833,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $36.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $34.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. GSK plc has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. Analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.3932 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.08%.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.